Opposition said Erdogan\u2019s party was delaying full results from emerging by lodging objections
\nANKARA
\nTurkey headed for a runoff vote after President Tayyip Erdogan led over his opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday\u2019s election but fell short of an outright majority to extend his 20-year rule of the NATO-member country.
\nNeither Erdogan nor Kilicdaroglu cleared the 50% threshold needed to avoid a second round, to be held on May 28, in an election seen as a verdict on Erdogan\u2019s increasingly authoritarian path.
\nThe presidential vote will decide not only who leads Turkey but also whether it reverts to a more secular, democratic path, how it will handle its severe cost of living crisis, and manage key relations with Russia, the Middle East and the West.
\nKilicdaroglu, who said he would prevail in the runoff, urged his supporters to be patient and accused Erdogan\u2019s party of interfering with the counting and reporting of results.
\nBut Erdogan performed better than pre-election polls had predicted, and he appeared in a confident and combative mood as he addressed his supporters.
\n\u201cWe are already ahead of our closest rival by 2.6 million votes. We expect this figure to increase with official results,\u201d Erdogan said.
\nWith almost 97% of ballot boxes counted, Erdogan led with 49.39% of votes and Kilicdaroglu had 44.92%, according to state-owned news agency Anadolu. Turkey\u2019s High Election Board gave Erdogan 49.49% with 91.93% of ballot boxes counted.
\nThousands of Erdogan voters converged on the party\u2019s headquarters in Ankara, blasting party songs from loudspeakers and waving flags. Some danced in the street.
\n\u201cWe know it is not exactly a celebration yet but we hope we will soon celebrate his victory. Erdogan is the best leader we had for this country and we love him,\u201d said Yalcin Yildrim, 39, who owns a textile factory.
\nErdogan has edge
\nThe results reflected deep polarization in a country at a political crossroads. The vote was set to hand Erdogan\u2019s ruling alliance a majority in parliament, giving him a potential edge heading into the runoff.
\nOpinion polls before the election had pointed to a very tight race but gave Kilicdaroglu, who heads a six-party alliance, a slight lead. Two polls on Friday showed him above the 50% threshold.
\nThe country of 85 million people – already struggling with soaring inflation – now faces two weeks of uncertainty that could rattle markets, with analysts expecting gyrations in the local currency and stock market.
\n\u201cThe next two weeks will probably be the longest two weeks in Turkey\u2019s history and a lot will happen. I would expect a significant crash in the Istanbul stock exchange and lots of fluctuations in the currency,\u201d said Hakan Akbas, managing director of Strategic Advisory Services, a consultancy.
\n\u201cErdogan will have an advantage in a second vote after his alliance did far better than the opposition\u2019s alliance,\u201d he added.
\nA third nationalist presidential candidate, Sinan Ogan, stood at 5.3% of the vote. He could be a \u201ckingmaker\u201d in the runoff depending on which candidate he endorses, analysts said.
\nThe opposition said Erdogan\u2019s party was delaying full results from emerging by lodging objections, while authorities were publishing results in an order that artificially boosted Erdogan\u2019s tally.
\nKilicdaroglu, in an earlier appearance, said that Erdogan\u2019s party was \u201cdestroying the will of Turkey\u201d by objecting to the counts of more than 1,000 ballot boxes. \u201cYou cannot prevent what will happen with objections. We will never let this become a fait accompli,\u201d he said.
\nBut the mood at the opposition party\u2019s headquarters, where Kilicdaroglu expected victory, was subdued as the votes were counted. His supporters waved flags of Turkey\u2019s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and beat drums.
\nKey Putin ally
\nThe choice of Turkey\u2019s next president is one of the most consequential political decisions in the country\u2019s 100-year history and will reverberate well beyond Turkey\u2019s borders.
\nA victory for Erdogan, one of President Vladimir Putin\u2019s most important allies, will likely cheer the Kremlin but unnerve the Biden administration, as well as many European and Middle Eastern leaders who had troubled relations with Erdogan.
\nTurkey\u2019s longest-serving leader has turned the NATO member and Europe\u2019s second-largest country into a global player, modernised it through megaprojects such as new bridges and airports and built an arms industry sought by foreign states.
\nBut his volatile economic policy of low interest rates, which set off a spiralling cost of living crisis and inflation, left him prey to voters\u2019 anger. His government\u2019s slow response to a devastating earthquake in southeast Turkey that killed 50,000 people earlier this year added to voters\u2019 dismay.
\nParliamentary majority
\nKilicdaroglu has pledged to revive democracy after years of state repression, return to orthodox economic policies, empower institutions that lost autonomy under Erdogan and rebuild frail ties with the West.
\nThousands of political prisoners and activists could be released if the opposition prevails.
\nCritics fear Erdogan will govern ever more autocratically if he wins another term. The 69-year-old president, a veteran of a dozen election victories, says he respects democracy.
\nIn the parliamentary vote, the People\u2019s Alliance of Erdogan\u2019s Islamist-rooted AKP, the nationalist MHP and others fared better than expected and were headed for a majority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Opposition said Erdogan\u2019s party was delaying full results from emerging by lodging objections ANKARA Turkey headed for a runoff vote after President Tayyip Erdogan led over his opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday\u2019s election but fell short of an outright majority to extend his 20-year rule of the NATO-member country. Neither Erdogan nor Kilicdaroglu cleared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-331467","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n